Theresa's New Start: New Love
by Lyn Black
Summary: Book two of Theresa's New Start. Theresa's impending marriage is being brought to a hault. What's it have to do with her future mother-in-law? Read and review to find out
1. Memories

DC: Passions is owned by James E. Reilly. I don't own any characters related to their themes, except for Alex, Xander and Livia Landower, and Lyn, Mattie and Shawn Black.  
  
SURPRISE! You wanted it, you got it.  
  
  
  
Lyn's POV  
  
  
  
DREAM FLASHBACK: TWO YEARS AGO  
  
  
  
"Come back soon, Shawn," I told him, before he kissed me and I ran my fingers through his soft dark hair.  
  
"Three weeks, tops. And I'll be home in time for the baby," he said, his matching dark eyes sparkling.  
  
"Mattie's gonna miss you too," I said. He turned away from me and took the sleeping one-week old little girl from the basinnette.  
  
"I love you, Matheson Adrienne," he cooed, kissing her on the forehead and setting her back down.  
  
"And I love your mommy, too," he said, turning back to me. He touched my cheek with his fingertips. We kissed one last time before he grabbed his camouflage bag and slung it over his back. He turned and walked down the walk to the group of men who were his comrades.  
  
Time somehow passed quickly, and the end of the three weeks was upon us. I was setting Mattie in her basinnette after she had finished her bottle as there was a knock at the door. Figuring it was my mother who was coming to see the baby, I answered it.  
  
"Missus Black?" a man asked, his dark trenchcoat billowing in the abnormal wind that was blowing. He held out a single hand, covered in a black leather glove. It held a white envelope in it, with my name pressed into it with black ink. I took it and he walked back to his car.  
  
My eyes followed him until he drove down the block. I closed the door and sat down on the couch. Mattie cooed in her sleep.  
  
"Dear Mrs. Shawn Black,  
  
"On behalf of the United States Air Force, we regret to inform you that one, Shawn Adrian Black, died in a plane crash which he was piloting. Sources say that an explosion in the cargo hold was responsible for the blast. Our greatest sympathies extend to you and your families."  
  
It was signed by the head of Shawn's department and the head of the Air Force. Tears pricked at my eyes. Subconciously my hands reached to my cheek, where he had touched me last. I sobbed for hours on end.  
  
There was another knock at the door, which I ignored. Someone looked through the brush in front of the window. My mom was standing there, with a distressed look on her face. She saw me crying and opened the door without invitation.  
  
"What's wrong, Lyn?" she asked. She noticed the letter in my hand and took it. She read it in silence.  
  
"This really has been a bad day for our family, dear," she said, mysteriously.  
  
"What else happened?" I asked through tears.  
  
"Lisabeth was shot this morning. She was... turning the corner at Rodeo, where she was caught in the line of fire of a drug deal that had gone wrong. If that passerby hadn't grabbed Xander... he would've been shot, too."  
  
"Lisabeth died too?"  
  
"Yes she did. Alex is bringing Xander home with me tonight. Come home... with us. You can't stay here alone, and with a baby..."  
  
"Not for long, okay?"  
  
  
  
END DREAM FLASHBACK  
  
I woke up with a start. Mattie was crying in the next room. I jumped up and put on my robe, which was hanging in the corner. Mattie wouldn't stop crying.  
  
"Mama!" she cried. I emerged in her room and saw her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, yet she was heaving, yet her face was still dry of tears. Instinctively I reached for my cheek. A single tear was forming at my eye.  
  
"Daddy?" she asked.  
  
"How could she remember him? It's been two years?" I wondered in my head.  
  
"Uncle 'Lex?" she asked. I checked her clock on her bedside. It read five- thirty.  
  
"What's wrong, baby?" I asked.  
  
"Want Daddy and Uncle 'Lex. Please show me Daddy and Uncle 'Lex?" she asked. I know what she wanted. First I took her to the bathroom. She tried to puke, but just gave two or three dry heaves.  
  
I wet a washcloth and rubbed it on her warmed face.  
  
"Show me Daddy and Uncle 'Lex?"  
  
I smiled and carried her to my room. On my bedside table was a picture of Shawn and Alex at the hospital when Mattie was born. They let Xander in for a picture, and Shawn was holding Mattie, while Alex held Xander.  
  
"Daddy and Uncle 'Lex!" she called. She seemed tired, so I let her lie down next to me on the bed, where she fell asleep, the wooden picture frame in her hand.  
  
***********  
  
Alex's POV  
  
I took one last look at the picture of Lisabeth. It was on our wedding day, when she was wearing a yellow dress at the Justice of the Peace, four months pregnant. I was about to put it in the box, with the other pictures and things, when I had a thought.  
  
I hung a nail in Xander's room and hung the simple photo above his bed. The rest of the items I closed up in the box and stashed in my closet. My gaze fell on the blue satiny box on my end table. I opened it and revealed the simple gold band with the small diamond in the center.  
  
"I hope she likes it," I wondered to myself, stuffing it into my pocket. I grabbed my leather jacket and my backpack.  
  
"Mom, I'm leaving now!" I called to her.  
  
"Okay Alex! I'm just making a casserole!"  
  
I left and took a cab to the airport.  
  
"Lopez-Fitzgerald," the sign read that I had been holding. Pilar walked up to me.  
  
"Luis has come with us. I hope that is okay?" she asked as Miguel and Luis walked up to us.  
  
"Of course. I know that I should've invited him anyways because I needed to talk to you."  
  
We took another cab to the hotel where they were going to stay.  
  
"I know Theresa would've wanted you to stay with her, but I wanted to surprise her. You know, with you being here?" I asked.  
  
"Of course." Pilar answered. Miguel announced he wanted to go for a walk and left Pilar, Luis and myself alone at a table in the dining room of the hotel.  
  
"The reason I've asked you here... I wanted to ask you... God I didn't think it would be so hard to ask you," I started. Luis took a sip of his beer as Pilar listened intently, cradling a bottle of water.  
  
I took a deep breath.  
  
"I'd like to ask Theresa to marry me. It's good that you're here, Luis, because I know you practically raised her, and I wanted to ask you too, Pilar," I finally said. They looked at each other briefly.  
  
"Of course. I know how mi Theresita feels about you."  
  
"Theresa really likes you. I know she'll be happy with you."  
  
I let out a big breath I'd been holding.  
  
"Would you like to see the ring I picked out?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah," Luis said. I stretched out and pulled the box out of my pocket, handing it to him. A small smile spread across his face as he showed it to his mother. She gasped.  
  
"You've got her permission!" Luis joked.  
  
********** 


	2. Marriage Proposals

DC: I don't own anything but the characters Lyn, Mattie and Shawn Black, and Alex, Xander, Livia and Lisabeth Landower.  
  
  
  
Theresa's POV  
  
Little Ethan was still fussing as I came in with his bottle.  
  
"Little Ethan, come on..." I started as the door opened. I thought it was Livia, because she had my spare key. But it wasn't.  
  
"Alex, what are you doing here?" I asked him.  
  
"Mom let me borrow her key."  
  
"But I'm not even dressed."  
  
He looked down.  
  
"Oh, sorry!" he said, and retreated to the living room. Little Ethan held his bottle on his own as I carried him into my room to change. He was done as I carried him out into the living room. There were three unexpected guests, the two older ones were sitting side by side on the couch, the third in Little Ethan's rocking chair.  
  
"Mama!" I cried, bringing her in for a hug. I did the exact same thing with each of my brother's and Luis took Little Ethan.  
  
"Haven't seen you in months. You're getting so big!" Luis exclaimed.  
  
"You must be doing something right if he's growing up strong," Mama said. Suddenly the phone rang.  
  
"Just a minute, you guys," I said as I took the phone. It was Chief Bennett.  
  
"Theresa? May I speak with Miguel? I was informed he was out in California with you," he said.  
  
"Sure. Miguel!" I called, setting the receiver to my chest. Miguel followed my call to the kitchen and took the phone.  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Miguel's POV  
  
  
  
"Hello?" I asked.  
  
"Miguel? I have some news for you, and I don't know how you're gonna take it," Chief Bennett started.  
  
"Is anything wrong with Charity? Or Kay?"  
  
"That's the thing. Kay's pregnant."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Chief Bennett took a deep breath.  
  
"Kay thinks its yours."  
  
"Are you sure? Is she sure?"  
  
"Well, she just got back from Doctor Russell's office. She's definately pregnant. Four months, in fact."  
  
"We broke up..."  
  
"You broke up three months ago, last Tuesday."  
  
"So there's no doubt?"  
  
"There's no doubt she's having your child."  
  
"Thank you for telling me, Chief Bennett. I'll be home in a week or two so we can sort this all out."  
  
"I know I can trust you to keep it kind of low? At least until you come home. Kay's not ready to tell anyone quite yet."  
  
"Can I talk to Kay, Chief?"  
  
"I'll ask her." Chief Bennett took his mouth away from the reciever to call for Kay.  
  
"Do you want to talk to him?"  
  
"Do I have to?"  
  
"You're gonna have to talk to him sooner or later. You might as well get it over with."  
  
"Okay..." Kay grumbled as she took the reciever from her father.  
  
"Hello?" she asked.  
  
"Kay?"  
  
"Who wants to know?" she asked, sarcastically.  
  
"Kay... we need to talk about this. Having a baby is a lot of work-"  
  
"You think I don't know that? Charity keeps yelling about diapers and formula. You'd think she was the one who was pregnant."  
  
"How's she taking it?" I asked.  
  
"She's gone mental. She's convinced herself that she's the one having the baby, and not me. Mom and Dad spoke to Doctor Russell about it, and the only thing to do is to have her sent away. That, including the fact that she's been seeing a therapist since you two broke up, added with the premonitions she's always blabbing about, the doctor thinks she should be sent away."  
  
"Send Charity away? I mean, I know her premonitions are a little bit unorthodox, but come on."  
  
"Dad's seriously thinking about it. For her own good. Her therapist said that in cases like hers, it'll get worse when the baby comes. She might even hurt it."  
  
"Charity hurt a defenseless baby?"  
  
"Mom's even thinking about it too."  
  
"Your mother? The most Charity-consious person in existence? She wants to send her away?"  
  
"Look, we can talk about this more when you get home. I'm going to see Simone at the state hospital."  
  
We hung up and I went to break the news to Luis. I took him aside into Little Ethan's room and we talked.  
  
"I don't know what to do," I started.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"It's Kay. She's pregnant."  
  
"What?" he said in a hushed voice.  
  
"How am I supposed to tell Mama? I'm supposed to be the one who gets out of Harmony."  
  
"Mama loves you. She loves all of us. And I bet even now she loves Alex for cryin' out loud. Family means a lot to her, and nothing's gonna change that. Look at how it turned out with Theresa?"  
  
"There's a difference. Theresa was both drunk and married when Little Ethan came."  
  
"There isn't any difference in how much she loves all of us. She loves us differently, but the same amount. You're her youngest child. You can get away with more than Antonio and I or even Theresa did. The point is, she'll be dissapointed, but she'll still love you."  
  
"That's not what I'm looking at. I was the last hope for her children to get out of Harmony. I'll probably end up breaking her heart."  
  
"She blew up when I flunked the gym final at Harmony High last semester."  
  
"But she still loves you."  
  
"I guess you're right. I didn't want Mama to think she'd failed me or something."  
  
"None of us have failed her. If anything, I probably did the most when she found our I was in love with a Craine. Nothing against Little Ethan or Theresa, you know. But if any of us hurt her, it was me."  
  
"Mama loves Sheridan like she was her own, though."  
  
"That was because I let her know how I felt, how she was different. You have to let her know positive things. That's what she wants: for us, her children, to be happy."  
  
"Okay... okay. I'll tell her."  
  
We went back into the living room.  
  
"Can I talk to you, Mama?" I asked.  
  
"Why, of course, mi Miguel. What about?" she asked.  
  
"Alone?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
I led her into Little Ethan's room as I had done with Luis.  
  
"Mama." I took a deep breath. She sat down primly in a rocking chair.  
  
"Mama, Kay's gonna have a baby. My baby."  
  
She blew up, yelling in rapid-fire Spanish. I could only decipher the words.  
  
"Pregnant? You're only eighteen! How could you get a girl pregnant? You obviously didn't know what you were getting into, didn't you?"  
  
"Mama, please."  
  
She calmed down long enough to hear my side.  
  
"We practiced safely, but even that's not perfect. All I'm saying, is that although it was an accident, I'm ready to step up. I'm not gonna give up on it, and you shouldn't either."  
  
"You present logic. But how are you going to pay for Kay's medical bills? And the baby's? For God's sake, you bag groceries for the supermarket back home!"  
  
"In English, please, Mama."  
  
"Well, I just wish you didn't do it until you were married. Just another decision you father should've told you about."  
  
"Mama, Daddy's been... gone since I was three. I wasn't even old enogh for the talk."  
  
"I thought Luis spoke to you."  
  
"He did, Mama. He answered all of my questions, too."  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Alex's POV  
  
Pilar was in the bedroom, yelling at Miguel for some reason, and Luis wanted to go for a long walk. He left, and I thought I was ready to ask Theresa.  
  
"Mama? We're going for a walk. If you want to go anywhere, take a spare key. There's one in the bread drawer," she told her mother in between the yelling at her brother.  
  
We walked around the beach. It was getting dark out, and I gave her my jacket to stay warm with. The sun was setting on the water, showing gold and red lights on the clear water. We walked onto a long, deserted dock. I felt like I was ready.  
  
"I know we've only been seeing each other for six months, but I think I'm in love with you," I started.  
  
"I think I love you too, Alex Landower," she replied, a smile emerging on her face. I knelt down on my left knee.  
  
"Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, will you marry me?" I asked. I took the ring box out of my pocket and held her shaking hands in mine.  
  
Before I opened the box, I got my answer.  
  
"Yes!" she exclaimed. I stood up and opened the box. She gasped the same way her mother did earlier as her eyes set on the stone. The moon was emerging on the water, making it even more romantic.  
  
My hands started shaking as I slid the ring on her slender finger. 


	3. Secrets

DC:The same as last time. The only characters I own are Lyn, Mattie and Shawn Black and Alex, Xander, Livia and Lisabeth Landower.  
  
  
  
  
  
Livia's POV  
  
  
  
"Mom, we're here!" Alex called from the living room.  
  
"I'll be there in a minute, Alex!"  
  
There were the sounds of Alex and his guest settling down on the couch in the living room as I set Xander down in his bed for a nap.  
  
I followed the sound of Alex's voice as I walked into the living room.  
  
"Yes, Alex?" I asked, saying hello to his guest, Theresa.  
  
"Mom, Theresa and I are getting married!" he exclaimed.  
  
I jumped out of my rocking chair to hug them.  
  
"It's about time," I said.  
  
"I know that Lisabeth would've wanted Xander and I to get on with life. I can't think of any other way to do it," Alex said.  
  
"And I know Xander loves Theresa, too," I added.  
  
"We aren't sure, but we're thinking of going to Harmony for the wedding," Alex said.  
  
Later that night I was still pacing.  
  
"How could Alex want to have the ceremony in Harmony?" I asked myself after I had locked my bedroom door. "He couldn't have possibly known about it. That's it. He doesn't know why I can't return."  
  
  
  
DREAM FLASHBACK: THIRTY YEARS AGO-HARMONY  
  
  
  
"It's so nice to be home," I said.  
  
"It's good to have you home, dearie," my mother said, putting her arm around my neck as we sat down on her porch swing.  
  
"What would you like to do today, my dear?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing much... Mother. I haven't begun to become reaquainted with you," I said.  
  
"Please, until you're used to it, call me Tabitha."  
  
Later on in the dream I remembered what all had happened during that week.  
  
"Thank you, Missus Smith. I'll call you next weekend. Same time?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
I hung up with the social worker as Tabitha walked in.  
  
"Livia, who was that, dear?" she asked, sitting down at the kitchen table with a cup of hot tea.  
  
"Missus Smith, the social worker. She asked that I keep her up to date with how I'm adjusting to being home."  
  
"Livia, may I speak to you?" Tabitha asked.  
  
"Of course," I said, pouring a cup of the sweet chamomile tea she made and sat down with her.  
  
"I just wanted you to know that I've missed you. When your father kidnapped you, I thought it was the end of the world when I couldn't find you. And to find out he'd sent you away. It just... hurt so much."  
  
"That Craine is no father to me."  
  
"I only knew him for a few weeks after I'd moved here. After that, I had thought I was in love. But his father was making him marry another woman. You don't know it yet, but you have a brother. Half brother, actually."  
  
"I don't want to know about it. He didn't want me, so I don't want him."  
  
"It seems so unreal now, fifteen years later, that he'd finally let me have you back."  
  
"He's dead, Tabitha. That's why I'm back."  
  
"I know dear," she said, putting her hands on mine.  
  
EVEN LATER IN DREAM FLASHBACK  
  
'What's in that basement?' I asked myself as I opened the door. Tabitha had gone to the store to buy milk, and I was investigating the house.  
  
I put my hand on the surprisingly warm brass doornob and turned it to the left. The dark wooden door swung open, revealing a swirling white mist with red lights going off down the stairs.  
  
I followed the stairs to the basement when the most unimaginable thing happened. The smell of smoked flesh filled my nose. Flames rose from the floor, engulfing the room. Stalagmites and stalactites were barely visible through the smoke. People yelling unstoppably, sounds of flames taking them over. I knew where I was: Hell.  
  
I ran back up the stairs as Tabitha emerged from the front door.  
  
"You're no mother of mine," I yelled, running past her.  
  
END DREAM FLASHBACK  
  
I woke up to Alex shaking my shoulders.  
  
"Mom? What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"N... nothing. Bad dream's all," I said, dumbfounded. "Go back to bed."  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, now, please."  
  
He walked back down the hall to his room and I waited for a moment. There was no way I'd be able to sleep again that night, so I waited for dawn in my rocking chair, wrapped in a blanket.  
  
THERESA'S POV  
  
  
  
"Mama, Miguel, Luis, I'm getting married!" I exclaimed.  
  
Mama jumped up and hugged me tightly, screaming in Spanish.  
  
"Mi Theresita's getting married! Mi daughter is finally marrying!"  
  
"Mama! I can't believe it either. Finally, someone who trusts me, knows everything and still loves me through it all."  
  
"I said that about your father, too, mi Theresita. He knew my ups and downs and still loved me."  
  
"Alex and I are coming home with you next week to get started. We don't want a long engagement or anything like that. We're going to get started right away and get married as soon as possible. Neither of us have had a nice wedding ceremony, except for that thing with Ethan, so we want to have a regular ceremony and reception at home," I told her.  
  
"He's a good man, Theresa," Luis said.  
  
"And I'd like you and Miguel to give me away, if you would," I said.  
  
"Sure!" Miguel perked up.  
  
"I would've asked Antonio to be part of the service, but his condition's getting worse every time I see him, and I don't know if he'd be able to stand up long enough," I added to comfort Mama.  
  
"I am sure Antonio would've liked the gesture you just gave," Mama said.  
  
"I just wonder why Livia's not into a back-home ceremony."  
  
  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Tabitha's POV  
  
I stood up by my Timmy's grave.  
  
"We'll get rid of Charity soon enough, my boy. And there's gonna be hell to pay. I just don't know who I'm going to recruit this time. Theresa Lopez- Fitgerald? Nah, she's over Ethan. Kay? She's already received her commupance. Simone? Mental hospital. Unless... I'll come back tomorrow, Timmy. And maybe I'll have something to tell you on the Charity situation."  
  
I walked home in dispair, remembering Livia, my daughter. She'd probably have her own children, now. Perhaps... with their own? A plan was forming in my head, on how to bring my child home.  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Sheridan's POV  
  
"It's so good to have you home, Luis," I said as he stepped into the termimal.  
  
"Hello, Pilar- Who's this?" I asked.  
  
"Sheridan Craine, meet Livia Landower. I'm getting married!" Theresa exclaimed.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking her hand.  
  
"The pleasures' all mine," Livia said, taking Xander back into her arms.  
  
"You remember Lyn and Mattie?" Theresa said. The two emerged from behind the small crowd forming, with Miguel.  
  
"Antonio's waiting at home. Beth's keeping an eye on him. She keeps saying how much she 'needs to do', since her mother died," I said.  
  
"Missus Wallace died?" Theresa asked.  
  
"About a month ago," I replied.  
  
"We all know how close she was to her. How's she holding up?" Theresa asked.  
  
"Pretty well," I told her.  
  
***********  
  
  
  
CLIFFIE ALERT!!!! 


	4. Concocting Schemes

DC: Still the same.  
  
  
  
  
  
Miguel's POV  
  
  
  
"Look Kay, if you aren't going to do what I want, at least hear me out, okay?" I asked.  
  
Kay grumbled.  
  
"Okay, whaddya want?"  
  
"You don't have to raise the baby if you don't want to. I will."  
  
"You? Raise a baby? By yourself?"  
  
"Mama said she'd help me and you'd never have to see it if you don't want to."  
  
"Who said I didn't want it?"  
  
"You're kinda implying it."  
  
"I don't imply anything. You think you can be Sir Miguel in his shining armor on his white steed. It doesn't work out like that, this time at least."  
  
"You're saying you don't want me to see my own baby?"  
  
"I didn't say that. I just said that you aren't going to be the good guy in this one. That 'holier than thou' bullshit is really wearing thin, here."  
  
"When did I ever say that?"  
  
"When you so graciously suggested I'd give my baby up and never see it again, you hypocrite!"  
  
"I only said that if you need a clean start-"  
  
"A clean start? I can't have a clean start, 'cause I'll always have a baby on my hip!"  
  
"So now you don't want it?"  
  
"I didn't say that!"  
  
"Then what are you saying? That you want a baby so it'll cramp your style? If you're gonna go and say that, then I might as well take it altogether!"  
  
Kay took a deep breath.  
  
"Look, we're not accomplishing anything here by yelling at each other. We're trying to figure out what's best for the baby," she said, rubbing her emerging belly.  
  
"First things first: I don't want to know what it is until it's born," I said.  
  
"That can be done."  
  
"We both chose names and decide together what it'll be called."  
  
"I think I've chosen them already: Logan and Hope."  
  
"I was kinda thinking along the lines of Martin and Anne. 'Hope' is English for 'Esperanza', you know."  
  
"Whatever. Martin, maybe. Anne, no. A big fat no. Remember, in the end, I'm the one popping this thing out, so I get to have most of the say in its name."  
  
"You pick a girl's name, and I'll pick a boy's?"  
  
Kay sighed again.  
  
"If that's what you think is fair, then so be it. But don't be planing on calling it Marvin, or something stupid like that."  
  
I took a deep breath.  
  
"It's fair. Next: how are we going to raise it? I mean, does it go back and forth between houses, or do we plan something else?"  
  
"I was thinking we'd get a little house together and share it, with our own lives, at least until the baby gets used to who's Mommy and who's Daddy."  
  
"I can live with that," I said.  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Alex's POV  
  
  
  
"Who's gonna be your best man?" Theresa asked.  
  
"One of your brothers?" I asked. We were chosing the groomsmen and bridesmaids.  
  
"You don't have to sweet talk me. You can invite one of your friends to do it," she said.  
  
"My friends from high school moved away from home after I married Lisabeth. None of my other friends can make it," I replied.  
  
"You chose who you want to chose, okay? Now, how about Sheridan for my bridesmaid? I would've asked Whitney, but she can't make it, either," she said.  
  
"It's up to you."  
  
"Then how about Xander as a ringbearer. Little Ethan isn't quite old enough for the job," she said.  
  
"Who would be a flower girl?"  
  
"Maybe a cousin?" she asked.  
  
"No cousins. Mom's an only child, plus she was adopted. Dad had a brother, but he passed away during Vietnam. What about yours?"  
  
"No little girls I can think of."  
  
"I guess we're in the dark on that one."  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Livia's POV  
  
  
  
I was walking around town, seeing things I hadn't seen in thirty years. A pang of terror was seizing my heart, knowing a woman may still live there that knew about the horrors she possessed. Finding out her little secret was enough to destroy Harmony, if not the world, was enough to send a chill up my spine. Alex walked up next to me, holding Theresa's hand.  
  
"Hi, Mom," Alex said.  
  
"How do you like it here?" Theresa asked.  
  
"It's beautiful. I just came from seeing Craine Manor."  
  
"I could show you inside, if you want to," Theresa said. "When I was... married to Julian, we lived there. And Mama still works there, even after I've told her a million times she should retire," Theresa said.  
  
"That's okay. I've looked, but I can't find Sheridan's cottage. She's asked me to stay there with her," I said.  
  
"I'll show you, Livia," Theresa said, and led us onto the grounds at Craine manor.  
  
Just beyond the gates, the large house stood erect, near a small cozy looking house with a homey feel.  
  
"We lived here when I was little," Theresa said. "Here in Sheridan's cottage, when my father was still alive."  
  
"Mrs. Landower? Is that you?" Sheridan asked from the top step of her porch.  
  
"Please, Livia," Mom said.  
  
"Okay, I've got a room set up for you," she said.  
  
"That's so kind of you," Mom said.  
  
Sheridan led Mom in and I talked to Theresa in private.  
  
"Something's wrong with Mom. She's never like this," I said.  
  
"She seems a little preoccupied. I've seen it, too," she said.  
  
"I know. She's been like this since we told her we were coming to Harmony for the wedding," I added.  
  
***********  
  
Tabitha's POV  
  
"Cracked Connie isn't good for anything! Connie!" I called upstairs.  
  
"What do you want?" she called back.  
  
"I need to make a poultice. Get down here!"  
  
"I'm not doing anything!"  
  
I sighed. "Cracked Connie was getting lazy. She isn't anything like my Timmy. What I need is a child I can raise. Can't be Livia, she's too old now. She turned fourty-five a couple of months ago. This baby needs my blood in it, though. She must have kids by now," I thought out loud to myself. I rushed down to my basement to talk to the 'ghouls' to see what they knew.  
  
"Tabitha, what brings you here?" one of the older demons asked.  
  
"I need to use the well."  
  
"Be my guest," it said, sarcastically. I walked over to it and started gazing.  
  
"Livia Lennox," I commanded. The mists swirled and moved aside. An older version of the little girl I had only known for awhile was standing there, inside a vaguely familiar house. It hit me.  
  
"She's at Sheridan's cottage! And who's with her?" I asked the demon.  
  
"She isn't a 'Lennox' anymore. She's married and become 'Landower'. Her two children have children: one each."  
  
"Tell me about them," I said. The mists swirled again. A younger version of Livia stood next to a tall male figure. Her hair was fair, much like Livia's. The male was different, though, with dark hair bleached blonde. They each had a child at their knees, with a spare.  
  
"Must be a friend's," I muttered.  
  
"Meet Lyn Black, her daughter, with her daughter, Matheson, Mattie for short. Lyn married out of high school to a man named Shawn Black, from the Air Force. He died just after Matheson was born. The male is Alex Landower. He too married young. His late wife, Lisabeth Landower, gave him a male child of his name, called Xander. Lisabeth died during a drug deal two years ago, on the same day the plane Shawn was piloting blew up."  
  
"She has much heartache," another demon mentioned.  
  
"You mean there's more?" I spun around back to the well. The first demon interrupted me.  
  
"Her husband, Daniel Landower, died too. Soon after Lyn started her schooling."  
  
The mists swirled again, this time revealing a family photo of Livia and a man who looked similar to the son. They each held a child in their laps, whom I supposed were Lyn and Alex.  
  
"I've got it!" I cried, running up the stairs. 


	5. Terrible Mistakes

DC: I don't have any changes to note at this time.  
  
  
  
AN: This chapter will be in the narrator's POV. Much will happen in this chapter, including secrets coming out. Therefore, I need to show everything happening, either noticed by the characters or not.  
  
  
  
Narrator's POV  
  
Tabitha and Cracked Connie were standing outside Sheridan's cottage wearing dark clothes.  
  
"Tabby, why did I have to come?" she complained.  
  
"Shut up, you good-for-nothing... thing!"  
  
Cracked Connie was quieted, knowing how well Tabitha's new powers were fine tuned.  
  
They looked inside the window. Sheridan, Miguel, Kay, Luis, Pilar, Antonio, Beth, Livia and Alex were laughing merrily with the fire blazing along with them.  
  
Theresa and Lyn walked in after putting the babies down.  
  
"Out like a light," Lyn told Alex. Tabitha walked around to the kitchen entrance and waited.  
  
Alastair was there, as usual, keeping quiet, yet snooping around. He left quietly as not to break his cover. Tabitha waited again and stepped inside.  
  
She found herself in a warm kitchen and looked around. Behind one polished wood door came the sounds of happy discussion about someone getting married. Suddenly, there was someone walking in. Tabitha hid in the empty pantry.  
  
"Anyone want anything?" Sheridan called behind her back.  
  
"Beer, please."  
  
"Some Coke?"  
  
"Tea. Are you sure you don't want any help?" Pilar asked.  
  
"No, no. It's still your week off, and you aren't lifting a finger," Sheridan called back.  
  
"Water."  
  
There were several more requests that blended into the background as Sheridan shuffled about. Soon she was back in the living room, the door shut firmly behind her. Tabitha took a deep breath and led Cracked Connie out.  
  
"Quiet!" Tabitha whispered to her. They tiptoed into a small hallway with several doors leading off it.  
  
The first one was apparently another entrance to the living room, where the lively discussion was still going on. The second was a bathroom, so clean it looked sterile. The next two doors were Sheridan's room and a closet, respectively. The last door was opened and Tabitha struck gold.  
  
Three babies slept soundly, side by side on the bed and surrounded by pillows. Tabitha and Cracked Connie snuck in and gazed on the sleeping mounds on the bed.  
  
"The one on the end must be the Craine kid," Cracked Connie said. Tabitha shushed her and selected one of the other two kids, the male with glossy dark brown ringlets, to the left, not quite two years old.  
  
***********  
  
Theresa's POV  
  
I checked up at Sheridan's clock. Midnight.  
  
"I'm gonna go check on the kids, okay?" I said. Alex was still holding my hand. He pulled me back, kissing me softly.  
  
Finally he let me go and I walked into the last bedroom, where the kids were sleeping. Knowing that the sleeping arrangement was Little Ethan on the left, Mattie in the middle, and Xander on the far right, I was quick to glance in. Mattie and Xander were fast asleep in their respective spots. I turned to go back to the living room, when I realized something.  
  
"Little Ethan?" I asked. I stepped into the dark room. Mattie stirred in her sleep. Xander rolled over, closer to Mattie. Little Ethan wasn't there. I checked under the bed and beneath the covers. The only bodies in the bed were wearing Strawberry Shortcake footie pajamas and Batman sleepsuits. All that was beneath the bed was a shoebox. I rushed out of the room.  
  
"Luis! Little Ethan is gone!" I cried, reaching the living room.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Little Ethan isn't in bed!"  
  
He followed me into the room. He found the Strawberry Shortcake and Batman suits. Little Ethan and his starry blue sleeper weren't.  
  
"Little Ethan?" he called. Xander woke up.  
  
"Teesa?" he asked. "Daddy?"  
  
"Come here," I said, and took him in my arms.  
  
"Did Little Ethan get up and go somewhere?" I asked him.  
  
"Teesa?" Mattie asked me. Luis picked her up, ruffling her messy blonde hair.  
  
We carried them to the living room, handing them to Alex and Lyn.  
  
"What's wrong, mi Theresita?" Mama asked, seeing the worry in my face.  
  
"Little Ethan's gone. He isn't in bed."  
  
Luis called the police and Chief Bennett drove over right away.  
  
"So Little Ethan's missing?" he asked.  
  
I nodded my head. He took out a notebook.  
  
"Okay, I know this stuff, but it's standard procedure. Full name?"  
  
"Ethan Martin Lopez-Fitzgerald."  
  
"Changed his name?"  
  
I nodded my head again.  
  
"Date of birth?"  
  
I answered him.  
  
"Age, weight and length?"  
  
"Nineteen months, twenty-five pounds, thirty inches."  
  
(AN: I don't know how accurate this is, but at least I tried...)  
  
"Last time you saw him?"  
  
"Eight thirty, when Lyn and I put the kids to bed."  
  
"Anyone leave the room since then?"  
  
"Sheridan got drinks, but she was only in the kitchen."  
  
"I went to the bathroom half an hour ago," Luis said.  
  
"See anything out of the ordinary?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Theresa, when did you go in and check on them, notice he was missing?"  
  
"Five after midnight."  
  
"What did you do when he wasn't in bed?"  
  
"Checked under the blankets and under the bed."  
  
"Then?"  
  
"I went to get Luis."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Xander and Mattie woke up, so we brought them in here."  
  
"That it? Then Luis called?"  
  
I nodded my head.  
  
Chief Bennett looked around the bedroom.  
  
"Anything different about the room?" he asked Sheridan, who walked in.  
  
She briefly glanced around.  
  
"No," she said.  
  
Chief Bennett took the short hallway to the kitchen, the only other exit from the cottage.  
  
"Anything different here?"  
  
"No."  
  
Sheridan looked around again, stopping her eyes on the empty pantry.  
  
"I could've sworn that was closed. I don't use it, so it's usually closed off."  
  
Sam used an ink pen to open the ajar door. He looked around and went back to the living room.  
  
"Mind if I use your phone? I'd like to get Forensics down to check for some out-of-place prints on the pantry. You don't use it, right?"  
  
Sheridan nodded her head as he dialed the phone.  
  
"Hank? I'm at Sheridan Crane's cottage. Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald's son's disapeared. Get over here and bring Forensics."  
  
There was muffled speaking on the other end and Sam hung up.  
  
"Hank'll be here in a minute. Now, no one goes into the bedroom or the kitchen until then."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, the "Forensics team" arrived. Noah Bennett and an older, tired looking man with graying hair, wasted no time in dusting the pantry door for prints.  
  
"Noah's training to take over for Mr. Gustaff," Sam explained.  
  
Mr. Gustaff and Noah expertly lifted three prints off of the pantry door, as Hank questioned everyone in the living room.  
  
"Sheridan, I'll need a print off yours and one of Pilar's. She's the only other person who's opened the door, you know of, right?"  
  
Sheridan nodded her head. Noah took a glass out of the cupboard and rubbed any fingerprints off of it with a rag, setting it in front of Sheridan at the kitchen table.  
  
"It's cleaner than getting out ink and stuff," he explained. Sheridan touched her index finger to the clean glass and pressed gently. Noah used an artist's paintbrush to dust powder on it. Mr. Gustaff put a piece of Scotch tape on the print and lifted it off, putting the tape on a piece of paper. Noah did the same with Mama.  
  
"It doesn't look like any of the prints we lifted, but they're two different prints off of the pantry. Noah's in collecting prints from everyone in the living room now," Mr. Gustaff said.  
  
Half an hour later, none of the three prints matched anyone's in the house.  
  
"No one's let anyone in, like a fast-food delivery guy or anything?" Sam asked.  
  
Everone shook their heads.  
  
"We'll keep in touch. One thing: don't tell anyone he's missing just yet. Stay here, but out of the kitchen and bedroom. If you're going anywhere, make sure you're back tomorrow morning. This'll be home base, and we'll need everyone to stay in touch," Sam said. 


End file.
